Greece, a country with the ideal climatic and soil conditions for the production of fruit and vegetables, spent 731.27 million Euro in the import of such products in 2015. This expenditure went not only to exotic fruits, such as pineapples and bananas, but also tomatoes.
If nothing else, the import data for last year is a reflection of the productive model in Greece, characterised by the insufficient investments in a dynamic agro-food sector, as well as of other consumer trends recorded during a very difficult year. They seem at least paradoxical, given the restrictions on the movement of capital, which were especially strict when they were first enforced.
According to the Panhellenic Exporters Association (PSE), the value of imports of goods of all categories in 2015 in Greece amounted to 40.98 billion Euro, registering an overall decline of 8.8%. This reduction is not due to the fact that the country managed to become self-sufficient in certain products and thus reduced imports, but mainly due to the decline in international oil prices, which reduced the value of imports of petroleum products by 31.2%.
At the same time, the figures show a 10.3% increase in the value of imports of fruits and vegetables in 2015 compared to 2014. In fact, fruit imports are ranked high, in 16th place, which has three possible explanations: first, less probable, that Greeks consumers switched to healthy eating; second, that supermarket chains bought imported vegetables at better prices, or third, that in some cases, the domestic production was reduced, partly because many growers in previous years replaced their crops with photovoltaic panels, while at the same time the state did not provide incentives for the expansion of hydroponic crops.
Source: kathimerini.gr